“How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?”
The full verse · Luke 1:34 · KJV
the , , I a ?
Asked by
Mary: the virgin of Nazareth, espoused to Joseph of the house of David, to whom the angel was sent (Luke 1:26-27)
The Scene
In the sixth month of Elisabeth's pregnancy, Gabriel comes to Mary in Nazareth and tells her she will conceive and bear a son who will be called "the Son of the Highest" and will reign on David's throne (Luke 1:26-33).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionMary asked how the promise would happen, not whether it would. She was a virgin, espoused but not yet married (Luke 1:27), so she could not see how she would conceive. Her words, "I know not a man," are a modest way of saying she had never been with a man; Gill calls them "a modest way of expressing" it, and the ESV puts it simply: "since I am a virgin." Gill says, "This she said not as doubting the truth of what was said; for she required no sign, as Zacharias did; nor is she charged with, and blamed for unbelief, as he was." Matthew Henry calls her reply "the language of faith and humble admiration." Her question is the honest wonder of someone ready to receive what she does not yet understand.
The Response
What Scripture recordsGabriel answered her directly: "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35). Then he gave her a sign she could go and see: "thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age" (Luke 1:36). He ended with the reason behind it all: "For with God nothing shall be impossible" (Luke 1:37). Mary answered, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word" (Luke 1:38). Soon after she went "with haste" to Elisabeth's house (Luke 1:39-40).
Historical Context
The world behind the wordsLuke calls Mary "a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph" (Luke 1:27). She was promised to Joseph in marriage, yet Matthew says she was found with child "before they came together" (Matthew 1:18), and the angel still calls her Joseph's "wife" (Matthew 1:20). Joseph was "of the house of David" (Luke 1:27), which matters because Gabriel promised that her son would receive "the throne of his father David" (Luke 1:32). The KJV's "know" is the Bible's familiar way of speaking about the marriage relationship, as when "Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived" (Genesis 4:1).
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyMary's question draws out one of the clearest statements in Scripture about who Jesus is. Because the Holy Ghost would come upon her, the child would be holy and "called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35). The question of how He would be born became the answer to who He would be.
It also shows how God treats an honest question. Zacharias and Mary both asked about an impossible birth (Luke 1:18, 34). Zacharias was rebuked; Mary was answered. God gave her an explanation, a sign, and a truth that holds for every believer: "with God nothing shall be impossible" (Luke 1:37).
Look Closer
What was Mary asking when she said, "How shall this be"?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Lord, what are You asking me to trust You with that I cannot yet understand how You will do?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- Mary asked "how" without doubting "whether." What is the difference in your own heart between those two kinds of questions?
- Mary was given a sign she could go and see in Elisabeth. Tell about a time when seeing God at work in someone else's life strengthened your faith.
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
You can ask God how. Mary did, and Gabriel did not scold her. He explained how it would happen, pointed her to Elisabeth, and reminded her that "with God nothing shall be impossible" (Luke 1:37).
Notice what Mary did with the answer. She still did not know every detail of what was ahead, but she said, "be it unto me according to thy word" (Luke 1:38). Faith does not need every answer before it says yes. Matthew Henry gives a simple way to practice this: "as we read and hear his promises, let us turn them into prayers."
This does not mean every question will be answered the way Mary's was. Mary's question came from a heart that believed (Luke 1:45). Ask honestly, and leave room for God to answer in His way and time.
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